Odebode was the first to hear the announcement, and Micah perked up soon after, with Akemi raising her head a few seconds after. All three dashed for the elevator, with Akemi making her way in, getting slammed into the wall by Micah and Odebode, who pressed the button for floor two. The crawl from floor three to two felt agonising as the elevator seemed to have gotten lazy on the transport job since any of them last used the elevator. But once the doors opened, all three flung themselves at the floor, Micah making his way into the first of the 'love rooms' he decided to form a crystal glove before inspecting a latex suit, cutting it slightly as he rummaged through it. He didn't find one, so he moved on to inspecting the blanket.

Odebode didn't even want to look at everything around him, just summoning his sword and slashing through the latex and whips, alongside breaking the bed with his blade. He moved on to the desk, with some kind of collar flying onto the lampshade, and Odebode noticed how the shadow of the lamp was now showing some kind of small rectangle in the middle. He peered inside, and there was a code. He took it, heading for the elevator. Both Micah and Akemi seemed to be looking, so he silently got in, and waited to get to the entrance.

Akemi sat looking for a few seconds at the small fire she accidentally created. She looked at her watch and reminded herself of what she had to do, flicking her forehead. She looked through the drawers, not finding much. Then she looked under the bedclothes. Again, nothing. She aimed a shot at the light, maybe there was something up there. She let the shot of corrosive liquid out of her fingernails and towards the light, which fell down. Nothing underneath the cover, or in the pile of shattered glass now on the floor. She decided to inspect the bathroom. Nothing behind the shower curtain, nothing behind the sink either. She looked at the toilet, and there was a picture on top of it. Some lady in a bra with the words 'Call me soon <3' written on it. She flipped it to the other side, and there was some lady's phone number, but with a few digits missing. Instead of twelve numbers, there were only ten. Akemi's eyes widened at this, as nothing seemed to be erased.

"Congratulations, Akemi. You found the hidden code." Kalea's voice spread through the room.

Akemi walked out of the room, seeing Micah in front of her. She ran toward the elevator, and Micah got in first. But they both got into the door, neither one meeting the gaze of the other. Once they got to the last floor, Micah grabbed her head, slamming it against the elevator's metal walls and throwing her on the ground. He ran towards the number pad and began punching in his code as quick as he could. Akemi got up, struggling to walk, running towards the number pad and aimed a shot directly at his back. Direct hit. She heard him scream, but he kept going, and just as she got up to him, the doors opened, and she decided to run inside, alongside Micah, who immediately fell to the floor unconscious. Kalea slowly walked up to her, opening the door and escorting her through it.

"I'm sorry, Akemi. You are nineteenth in this years game." She sighed.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The door closed, and a screen came on above the door. Kalea turned around, and Leonie was back up, fiddling around with her watch.

"Okay, so who's gone? Akemi?" She looked at the screen, and at her watch. "Yeah, Akemi." Her normal overly perky turn made it's appearance, with the grin and everything.

"Well, Akemi, it's time for you to go! I'd say your impression on this game was great, but...it's day two. And you haven't even talked to anyone. Any-way, time for the execution to begin!"

"The what?" Ulrich asked.

"I'd advise you to look away if you're unfamiliar." Huang replied, his voice melancholic as he hung his head downwards.

She pressed something on her watch, and Amber's eyes jolted open, and she fell to her knees, screaming. She tried to say something, but blood started dripping out of her mouth.

"Oh, my bad. Wrong icon." Leonie responded, with the same tone as one would have when leaving something you borrowed at home. She was about to press something on her watch a second time, and Kalea slapped her hand.

"We're not doing that!" She shouted firmly. She held her watch to her mouth.

"Send in the smilers."

"Wait, the smilers? No, don't send them in!" Leonie screamed, trying to grab Kalea's watch. Kalea locked on to the light on the ceiling, grabbing onto it and jumping off onto the other side of the room.

Screaming was heard from the screen, and some of the contestants looked on as around a dozen smilers entered the hotel, grabbing Akemi and taking her to the next floor.

"What the hell?" Ulrich whispered to himself.

"Are you okay?!" Aurora asked a barely standing Amber, shaking her slightly. "Say something if you can hear me!"

Amber made a few incoherent noises, before falling into Aurora's chest. Aurora looked at Kalea, genuinely terrified. Even Lloyd looked scared at this.

"Her and Micah will be taken into the infirmary, I can assure you that she'll be fine." Kalea nodded, picking Micah up.

"It'll be minor brain damage at worst!" Leonie piped in while picking up Amber, and Kalea muttered something under her breath.

"Anyway, the rest of you can head back to your rooms."

"Excuse me?" A man's voice appeared behind Leonie, and she placed Amber down and spun around to see who it was.

"What are you doing, Kapil?" She asked.

"Do you think you can just attack random people like that?" He asked, summoning a spear from his right hand, and thrusting it in her face.

"Woah now, threats against contestants or staff is prohibited when there isn't a challenge on, you are aware of that, right?" Leonie reminded politely, tilting her head like a confused dog.

"You think I care!?" Kapil asked, thrusting his spear into Leonie's face, only for it to stop just short of her nose. A small popping noise was heard.

"Well, it seems we have our first rule breaker of the main game! Or second, sorry. Actually, Eric is off the hook, I'll punish this guy instead."

"Wait, what?" Seeta screamed out, only for Silvia to grab her stomach and hold her back. The others all took a step back, whispering among themselves. Kapil felt a chill go up his spine, and something brush up against his left arm, and then he saw his arm on the floor. The chill was gone, and he took a few steps back, before falling to the ground.

Seeta started breathing heavily, and Silvia stood in front of her before she could do anything.

"Lads, back me up here!" Silvia yelled out. Ulrich, Huang, and Valentina all stood around her before she could do anything to piss Leonie off more, until she was stood there silent, looking like a ghost. She fell to her knees.

"Anyway, as I was saying, you're all free to go back to your rooms. Sleep well."